Tuesday, November 4, 2008

10:04 PM

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan told Fox News that Republicans need to go "back to our roots" and become a big ideas and reform party that it used to be.

"We can't be afraid of our principles anymore. We can't be afraid of taking political risks anymore," Ryan said, complaining that Republicans had been too afraid and bought too much into the earmark system and had lost their way. "We've had too much political fear in our party. ... We've seen what that's gotten us."

Ryan, considering a rising star in the GOP caucus, sidestepped a question about who should lead House Republicans, saying he didn't want to "get into personality issues about leadership." He decried the "Europeanizing" of American government, saying the GOP needs to take its case for reforming entitlement programs and limiting spending.

"Earmarks is a symptom," Ryan said. "The problem is we went big government."